Iran has reportedly started to withdraw troops from Syria as advancing rebel forces threaten to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to The New York Times.
Syrian insurgents took control of the central city of Hama following the retreat of government forces on Thursday, just days after rebels captured most of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city. By Friday, rebels seized the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor while also reaching the outskirts of Homs, the country's third-largest city.
Amid the advances, evacuations were initiated for commanders and personnel from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, according to Iranian officials and regional commanders cited in the Times report. Diplomatic staff serving at the Iranian Embassy in Damascus were also reportedly being evacuated.
"Iran is starting to evacuate its forces and military personnel because we cannot fight as an advisory and support force if Syria's army itself does not want to fight," Iranian analyst Mehdi Rahmati told the news outlet. "Iran has realized that it cannot manage the situation in Syria right now with any military operation and this option is off the table."
Iran has been a close ally to the Assad government throughout the 13-year Syrian civil war, which has recently escalated dramatically due to the ongoing rebel offensive. Russian President Vladimir Putin's government is also closely allied with Assad.
The Iranians who left the war-torn nation on Friday were reportedly evacuated to Lebanon and Iraq, both countries that border Syria, while others were flown directly to Tehran.
In a report published earlier on Friday by Reuters, an unnamed senior Iranian official said that Tehran was sending more military equipment and had "taken all necessary steps to increase the number of its military advisers in Syria and deploy forces" to help Assad.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email on Friday night.
The rapid rebel advance has put Assad's regime on the back foot and shaken up a region of the world that was already on a knife's edge due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and tensions between Israel and Iran.
If Iranian forces withdraw from Syria, the regime could be pushed to the brink of defeat and may increasingly look toward Russia for salvation. But experts have expressed doubts on Moscow's ability or willingness to dedicate the resources necessary to save Assad amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
"The little that Russia could provide Syria—given Russian commitments in Ukraine—is unlikely to decisively turn the tide of the Syrian Opposition's advance," Brian Carter, Middle East portfolio manager for the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project, recently told Newsweek.
"Syria's best bet may be Iran and its network of armed militias in Syria and the region," he added.
Update 12/06/24, 10:35 p.m.: This article was updated with further information and background.
